Will Travel for Beer

It happens like this every time; I have a trip coming up, I’m heading to Vermont to visit family. The first thing I do to start planning the trip? I open Google Maps and plot the course, Bangor to Burlington, this is a trip I’ve made many times, a trip I could I hop in the car and make at any point without a GPS or a map but I still feel the need to see it ahead of time, maybe I’m just hoping that the projected travel time will suddenly be reduced by an hour or it’ll suggest some new route I’ve never travelled before.

Google Maps Bangor to Burlington

Now that I’ve seen the trip all plotted out on a map, I’ve confirmed that the route hasn’t changed, the distance is the same and it’ll be 6+ hours in the car, it happens. The little voice inside my head whispers something. What was that? It looks like we’re driving right near Hill Farmstead? Oh yeah, I see it, and if I stop there I might as well go over to Rock Art Brewery in Morrisville, they’re practically neighbors. If I’m
making beer stops I’ll have to see if The Alchemist has any Heady Topper available, they are almost next door to Ben & Jerry’s my son will love that. Well seven breweries later and that 6+ hours car ride is now 10+ hours and all the prime real estate in my trunk is spoken for.

“Hey Hon, take a look at this.”

Google Maps Bangor to Burlington w/ 7 Brewery stops

I think my wife expects this, she knows there’s a trip being planned and it’s just a matter of time before I show her the map. Sometimes she’s all for it and will even suggest a stop at a brewery or brewpub that I might have missed. Sometimes she’s the voice of reason, because actually hitting all those stops just isn’t possible. Google Maps for some reason doesn’t factor in lunch at the brewpub or time required for brewery tours, they should work on that. I’m lucky to have a wife who enjoys riding in the car and is every bit the beer fan that I am; we are still working on how to make this fun for our son.

Now to start planning the trip home, I think I can hit some breweries in Portsmouth, NH and Portland, ME, I mean they’re not that far out of the way, right?

What are your favorite New England breweries or brewpubs to stop into while on a road trip?